Opposing Forces
by musikmonkie
Summary: When two new girls come to Bloors, Lysander and Tancred must help keep them safe from the watchful Manfred and his evil schemes.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer-I don't own anything from Charlie Bone but I do own Natalie and Savannah.

**Opposing Forces**

**Chapter One**

The large dining hall was quickly filling with the students as they arrived at the school. Everyone anticipated the start-of-year breakfast feast as the aroma filled the room; also it was the best meal they received all year so they had to enjoy and savory every moment. Dr. Bloor sat at the high table scanning the students as they entered. His gaze fell on a girl as she made her way to the music table. Her black hair and dark complexion gave her an exotic look, and her green eyes held an air of confidence as she sat down at the end of the table, near Charlie Bone and his friends; Gabriel, who was closest to her, then Fidelio, and on the other side of Charlie, Billy Raven.

Dr. Bloor smiled mischievously and stood as the last person sat.

"Welcome back." He began and silence fell on the hall. "I hope this year will go...smoother, than the last." Dr. Bloor shot a glare and Charlie and his group before continuing, "We have among us, two new students. Savannah and Natalie Summers will you please stand."

All eyes looked as a girl with long black, curly hair and bright green eyes stood at the end of the music table and an identical girl stood at the art table.

"Savannah, as you can see will be joining our music academy, and Natalie will be in art." Dr. Bloor addressed the student body. "Also, they are fortunate enough to be among the endowed."

At that, the hall quickly filled with whispers of excitement and annoyance, while a slight blush rose in Savannah's cheeks while Natalie raised her chin slightly in pride.

"Now that that has been taken care of, let the feast begin." At Dr. Bloor's final words, the kitchen doors opened and the cooks came out with plates of food. As soon as the dishes were handed out, the dining room was a buzz with the sounds of eating and talking.

Gabriel leaned over to Savannah and smiled broadly, extending his hand. "Hi! I'm Gabriel Silk."

Savannah smiled and took his hand, "Hi."

Gabriel took that as an invitation to start a conversation and scooted closer to Savannah. "I'm endowed too. There's only three...well now four of us in the music academy."

"Cool." Savannah said as she took a bite of the eggs in front of her.

"So, where did you move from?" Gabriel asked.

"Spain. My father's in the military and we've moved around a lot." Savannah answered.

"Really? Wow, I've lived here my whole life. Were all have you lived?"

Savannah chewed her toast as she thought. "Japan, Germany, Alaska, Texas, Hawaii, Spain, and now here. But this is the last time we're moving. My dad is going to retire and he and my mom decided this is the best place because this school has a program for endowed children."

Gabriel smiled, "Good. That gives me time to become your friend. Is Natalie your twin?"

"Yeah, we're identical." Savannah said, pointing out the obvious

Savannah and Gabriel talked more as the meal came to an end, then Gabriel ushered her to the coatroom and to assembly. After assembly, Savannah and Gabriel had math together.

"Hey, Lysander and Tancred are in that class too." Gabriel said as they made their way through the halls to the math room.

Lysander had grown over the summer, and was now close to six feet. His black hair hung around his head in dreadlocks. His brown eyes danced in the light when he spotted Gabriel at the door. Tancred also had grown and was only a few inches shorter than Lysander. His electric blonde hair was short and spiked up in all directions. Next to Tancred sat Natalie.

"Hey guys!" Gabriel sat next to Natalie and Lysander motioned for Savannah to take the seat next to him.

"This is Savannah Summers. Savannah this is Lysander Sage and Tancred Torsson." Gabriel introduced. "And I'm Gabriel." He addressed Natalie, who smiled at him politely.

Lysander smiled and extended his hand to Savannah. "Nice to meet you. It's about time we got a new kid our age. All the new ones we got last year were way younger."

Tancred let out a loud laugh, "She still might be younger than us Sander. Everyone in this class is 15, 16, or 17. How old are you two?"

"We just turned 16. How old are you guys?" Natalie said.

"Tancred and I are 17, Gabriel is 16." Lysander said.

A tall, stringy man with thinning red hair stood up at the teacher's desk and cleared his throat loudly. "Students, please, class is going to start please quiet down."

As the lesson started, papers shuffled and pencils scrapped in an attempt to take notes as the teacher talked quickly, barely even stopping for a breath. Savannah crinkled her brow in concentration, but still couldn't keep up the teacher's chatter. The numbers on her paper became jumbled and her brain felt like it was being tied in knots. Lysander noticed her confusion.

"If you need help, I'll help you during the work time." He whispered.

Savannah looked slightly relieved, then flustered as she realized she was falling behind in the notes while Lysander seemed to be able to keep up without a problem.

"Thanks." She muttered.

When the teacher fell silent, students turned to their friends and started talking, ignoring the requests to work. Lysander slid his desk next to Savannah's, as the other three quickly moved their desks into a half circle around Savannah and Lysander's desks.

Savannah frowned at her notes of cramped, scribbled numbers. "Can I copy your notes, sis?"

Natalie scoffed, "You think I took better notes than you? You're supposed to be the one that's good at math."

Natalie showed her sister a sheet of doodles, "This is as good as my notes ever get."

Savannah rolled her eyes. Tancred; however, looked interested by the meaningless scribbles.

"So, you're good at art, huh?" He asked Natalie.

Natalie nodded, "Mostly I paint or sketch. How 'bout you?"

As Natalie and Tancred discussed art Lysander offered to let Savannah borrow his notes.

"Thank you so much." Savannah breathed a sigh of relief. "If I don't take good notes then both of us fail."

"It's no problem." Lysander flashed a brilliant smile.

As Savannah copied Lysander's neatly written notes, he explained what the teacher had taught with Gabriel's help. Soon, the three had completed the assignment.

"Well, I must say, you guys are much better at explaining this stuff than the teacher was." Savannah said softly so the teacher wouldn't hear.

Lysander laughed. "Once you get used to his teaching style, it's not so bad."

"Hey, Savannah." Natalie interrupted. "Are you done with the assignment?"

Savannah rolled her eyes and slid her paper onto her twin's desk.

"Sweet! Thanks, I owe you one."

"You owe me a lot more than one, Natalie." Savannah reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm working on that." Natalie mumbled as the guys laughed.

The bell rang, dismissing the class for the morning break.

"So, what are your endowments?" Tancred asked Natalie and Savannah as they sat under a large tree.

Gabriel had run off to help Charlie Bone and Fidelio Gunn, leaving the others to sit around in the shade of the large trees that surrounded the garden.

Natalie glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then motioned for the guys to lean in closer before she uttered in a whisper "I have the power to destroy."

Savannah chuckled, "You make it sound so terrifying." But she too had kept her voice down. "Natalie can make and control fire."

"Wow." Tancred and Lysander said in unison.

"So can you do the same thing?" Lysander asked Savannah, who shook her head.

"Annie can heal people." Natalie continued to whisper.

"Sweet." Tancred commented.

"Awesome." Lysander agreed.

"But you guys can't tell anyone. Especially the Bloor's; if they knew what we could do..." Natalie stopped suddenly as Manfred approached the group.

"What are you all whispering about?" Manfred demanded.

"How much you're pony tail looks like a girl from the back." Tancred responded.

Manfred glared at Tancred. "You better watch your mouth Torsson. And you," He turned to Natalie and Savannah, "Had better watch your backs. I've got my eye on you."

With that, he turned and stomped off across the field.

"Have you two met Manfred before?" Lysander asked.

Savannah nodded, "He came to our house to make sure we were going to Bloor's. Before he left he told us he would find out what our endowments are and nothing would stop him."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I don't own anyone from Charlie Bone, though that would be cool! I do own Natalie and Savannah.

Hey guys, just an FYI from me to you, I'm moving to another country so I probably won't be able to update until after the first of the year. Unless I get lucky and finish the next chapter tonight, then there will be one more chapter, so don't freak out if I don't update for a while.

**Opposing Forces**

**Chapter Two**

For the rest of the week, Natalie and Savannah couldn't go anywhere without feeling eyes watching their every move. Manfred was always just around the corner, Zelda was behind every statue, and Asa lurked in the shadows. Relief finally came when Friday arrived and the students raced for the buses.

Savannah slipped unnoticed onto the green bus and sat down by Natalie, who raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing on this bus?"

"Olivia told me if I turn my cape inside out, the color is close enough to yours and they won't notice I'm on the wrong bus." Savannah explained. "I thought it was stupid that we rode different buses."

"Yeah it was." Lysander agreed, turning in his seat to talk to the girls.

"Hey, you guys wanna hang out this weekend?" Tancred asked, also turning in the seat.

"Sure." Natalie replied. "What do kids around here do for fun anyway?"

"We pretty much just hang out in the center of the city, where all the shops and cafés are. Our favorite place to hang out is the Pet's Café." Lysander answered.

"The Pet's Café?" Savannah giggled.

"Yeah, the owner is a close friend. His wife loves animals and you're not allowed in unless you have a pet with you." Tancred explained the strange name.

The bus screeched to a halt at the bottom of a street that led up a steep hill. Lysander and Tancred gathered up their bags.

"We'll call you tonight, ok." Lysander said as he entered his phone number onto Savannah's cell phone.

"See ya tomorrow!" Natalie called to Tancred.

The next day, Natalie and Savannah made their way through the crowded streets in front of the large cathedral. Lysander had giving Savannah detailed instructions to get them to the Pet's Café without any trouble. The girls found the small alley marked Frog Street and cautiously headed down the path. Buildings loomed over them on either side, and strange groans followed them from the busy street.

"Are you sure this is right?" Natalie asked nervously.

"Yeah." Savannah answered confidently, then added under her breath, "I hope."

They rounded a corner at the back of the alley and came face to face with an old café. Through the windows they could see dozens of animals in all shapes and sizes sitting with their masters. Dogs waged their tails from the floor by their humans' feet. Cats purred as they circled legs and chairs. Mice scurried around tables, birds flew in small circles before landing effortlessly on perches mounted close to the ceiling.

"This can not be healthy." Natalie muttered.

"Just don't tell him that." Savannah said as they walked through the door.

Norton the bouncer stood there, hovering over the girls. His muscles bulged in his shirt and his jeans hugged his enormous legs. "Pets?"

Shaking, Natalie held up a small grey kitten. "Please don't hurt him."

Norton stared down at the teeny kitten, who looked up at him with huge, innocent eyes and meowed. A huge smile broke across Norton's face.

"Cute. You can go in." Natalie quickly passed before the giant man had a chance to change his mind; however, Norton held out his arm to stop Savannah from passing.

"You need a pet, too."

Savannah reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, pygmy monkey. The monkey's white fury stuck out in every direction from his small head. Upon seeing Norton, the monkey squeezed Savannah's fingers a little tighter, once again making the bouncer smile.

"Go on in."

Savannah dashed past the bouncer and scanned the room for Natalie. Lysander appeared at her side.

"We saved you a spot." He said before taking her arm and leading her to the back of the café.

"Thanks. What's with the big scary guy?" Savannah asked.

"Norton? He's really not that scary, he just looks out for all the animals." Tancred said.

"Right." Savannah laughed nervously.

"So, what pets do you guys have?" Natalie asked as she stole a cookie off of Lysander's plate.

"I have Homer." Lysander pointed to a large bird on a perch above the table. "And I wouldn't eat that cookie, Homer kinda liked it a little too much and felt the need to mark it as his."

Natalie's eyes grew wide and she sprayed cookie crumbs across the table. The others all burst into laughter, grabbing theirs sides and slapping the table.

"I borrowed a gerbil from Gabriel." Tancred said after they settled down. "What about you guys?"

Natalie pulled out her kitten. "This is Seika."

"Oooh! Cute." Tancred cooed.

Savannah giggled as she pulled her monkey from her pocket. "This is Weniki."

"Awesome!" Lysander gently petted Weniki's head.

"So, what else is there to do here?" Natalie asked.

Tancred thought for a minute before answering. "We could go to the park, or see all the shops by the cathedral."

"Let's go look around." Natalie stood quickly, grabbed Tancred's arm and pulled him toward the door.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tancred asked as they left the café.

"It was a nice café, don't get me wrong, but it was starting to smell kinda like my Aunt Bessie's house after a rain storm." Natalie defended.

Lysander and Savannah followed behind Tancred and Natalie talking as they strolled toward the busy city center.

"So, do you like it here?" Lysander asked.

"Yeah, it's nice and everyone is really friendly." Savannah said.

"I'm sensing a but in there." Lysander put in.

"But I wasn't expecting the local psycho-boy to follow me around in order to figure out what I can do." Savannah finished.

Laughing, Lysander commented. "Yeah, he is psycho, but I wouldn't worry about that. If you every need help, just call me."

Smiling, Savannah blushed and looked at her feet, "Thanks."

Lysander slid his hand into her hers and smiled down at her. "No problem."

"Are you guys COMING?" Natalie shouted from the doorway of a nearby store.

Savannah grinned, running for the door and keeping Lysander's hand closed in hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Charlie Bone related, though I did create the characters Savannah and Natalie.

**Chapter Three**

Manfred stood near the door of his Grandfather's room, his breath held in his lungs as the room filled with smoke from the lit fireplace. Even though it was warm in the room, the withered old man still lit a fire and huddled under layers of blankets.

"You were supposed to keep them from becoming friends with those no good brats." The old man's voice was hoarse. "What is your pathetic excuse for failure this time?"

Manfred clenched his teeth, "There is still time to get what we want from them. Asa is following them. They are bound to use their endowments some time and when they do, Asa will be there. We haven't failed yet."

"Agh!" The old man hurled a tea cup across the room. "Of course you have! They will never work for us if they have those brats to turn to."

In an effort to thwart his grandfather's anger, Manfred babbled, "Maybe they're endowments aren't what we expect. And even if they are, we still have ways to bend them to our will."

"You idiot! Why didn't you think of that before?" Another tea cup was launched. "Get out there and make use of yourself! I want them hypnotized and working for us before the week is out."

Manfred skirted out the door and hurried down the corridor, anxious to get away from the flying tea cups. Of course he had thought of hypnosis. What did his grandfather take him for? Now, however, he would have to work fast before the girls became too close to Sage and Torsson or else it would too late and they would have to use other means to get what they want.

Monday came all too quickly for Savannah and before she knew it, she was once again staring up at the malevolent towers of Bloor's Academy. Her bus had come before Natalie's and since it was the start of the week, it was impossible for her to sneak onto the green bus. With a heavy sigh, she made her way to the school, her blue cape billowing around her in the morning wind.

"Savannah!" She turned to see Gabriel running toward her.

"Hey Gabe." She smiled and waited for Gabriel to catch up.

"Have a good weekend?"

"Yeah. Sorry we didn't stay at the Pet's Café long, Natalie is kind of a germ-aphobe. She didn't like being so close to so many animals."

Gabriel shrugged, "It's ok. The Café can be a little overwhelming if you're not use to it. Plus Manfred and his gang don't like it, so it's a good place for us to hang out."

At the mention of Manfred, Savannah shuttered, "I forgot about him. Hopefully, he's given up following Natalie and I; it was getting creepy."

The two entered the main hall and fell silent. Savannah could feel eyes once again watching her and with a sigh, she prepared herself for another long week of surveillance. Before she reached the coatroom, an angry voice called out to her.

"Savannah!"

She turned to see Manfred striding across the hall. Gabriel turned as well, putting a hand of comfort on her shoulder.

"I need to speak to you after Assembly in the King's Room. Don't be late." Manfred glared at Gabriel before marching off to yell at a first year who was talking.

Savannah and Gabriel hurried into the coatroom, eager to get away from Manfred. Savannah groaned, leaning against the wall as Gabriel hung up his bag. The last thing she wanted to do was meet with Manfred, away from everyone else.

"I wonder what he wants." Gabriel remarked.

"Probably to grill me for information about my endowment. He's determined to find out what it is." The two left the coatroom and entered Assembly.

"Just be careful." Gabriel whispered before slipping into his place in the group of music students.

Savannah felt uneasy as she slipped into her place among the Sopranos. As the time passed, butterflies began buzzing around in her stomach, and not the good kind. By the end of the last song, Savannah felt queasy. She glanced at Gabriel, who offered her a hopeful smile, before leaving Assembly and heading for the King's Room. When she reached to door, her hand stayed on the handle, her courage faltering for just a moment.

_I'd rather be in math class_. She thought before taking a breath and pushing open the door.

Manfred sat at his usual spot at the head of the table. His beady eyes locked on her as soon as she entered. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her to take a seat by him.

"You could make this easy." He began when she sat timidly on the edge of her seat. "You could just tell us what we want to know and save yourself the trouble." He stood and began pacing around the table, his hands clasped behind his back. "By now, you've probably figured out that Asa has been following you. If you just tell me what you're endowment is, he'll leave you alone. You could make this easy. Painless."

He stopped behind her chair, placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Just tell me what it is you can do."

Savannah shook her head, "Why do you care so much?"

Manfred jerked her chair around and glowered down at her, "You may have the power we need. We could give you anything you want, anything! Tell me!"

"No." Savannah avoided his gaze.

"Look at me." Manfred's voice became low and compelling. "Look. At. Me."

Savannah felt the pull of his hypnosis, but she fought it. "You'll have to get used to not getting everything you want."

With a growl of rage, Manfred grabbed her chin and raised her eyes to his. "Tell me."

Savannah met his gaze, "You can't control me. If you really suspected what my endowment was, you would have figured that out."

Manfred continued to stare into her eyes, using all his strength to put her under his control. She didn't look away, only stared him down until he finally realized it was fruitless. Outraged, he shoved her back, tipping the chair. Savannah hit the back of her head on the table and stars leaped across her vision.

"You will regret not making this easy. You will do what we want, one way or the other." Manfred stormed out of the room, leaving Savannah alone.

Resting her head on the floor for a moment, Savannah sighed. He didn't give her a slip to excuse her for being late to class. _That's just great, now I'll end up in detention._ She stood and straightened the chair. Her head was throbbing and she could feel the blood trickling down her neck.

"Perfect."

Just then, the bell dismissing classes rang and the sound of children running out to the garden drifted up from the window. Savannah was about to leave when the door burst open and Lysander and Gabriel burst in.

"Are you ok?" Lysander's eyes were filled with worry as he rushed to Savannah, Gabriel following close behind.

"You never came to class. I thought Manfred had done something." Gabriel's voice was slightly higher than normal.

Savannah shook her head, only to make herself dizzy. She sat down heavily on the nearest chair. Lysander put his hands out to help her, his eyes scanning her over to see if she was hurt.

"You're bleeding." His eyes fell on her neck and he gently turned her head to assess the damage. "We'll get you to the Infirmary."

"It's ok." Savannah protested, "I can take care of it."

Closing her eyes, Savannah held a hand over the injury. Blue sparks sprouted from her fingertips and gathered near the wound, which began to disappear. After a moment, there was no cut and the blue sparks faded. She opened her eyes smiled at Lysander.

"Woah." Whispered Gabriel.

"Cool." Lysander grinned, pulled a tissue out of his bag and wiped the blood from Savannah's neck. "So that's how you do it?"

"Yep. Manfred suspected what I can do, but he wasn't sure. That's why he wanted me to come here. He tried to hypnotize me and when he couldn't, he shoved me down. I hit my head on the table." Savannah explained.

"He can't hypnotize you?" Gabriel asked, shocked.

"You can't hypnotize someone that can turn around and heal themselves." Savannah grinned.

Lysander helped her to her feet and ushered them out the door, "We'd better get outside before we're caught and get detention."

Manfred watched as Lysander, Gabriel and Savannah joined Tancred and Natalie in the garden. His suspicions had been right. If Savannah had the power to heal, Natalie most certainly had the power to destroy with fire. Both could be useful to him. And they would help him, he would make sure of that. He had other ways to make people see his way.


End file.
